SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Stock Price Target Cut by Wells Fargo & Company

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) had its price objective decreased by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $47.00 to $46.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the energy company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 54.19% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial lifted their target price on SM Energy from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of SM Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Finally, Mizuho set a $39.00 price objective on shares of SM Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.82.

SM Energy Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of SM stock traded up $0.20 on Thursday, reaching $29.83. 3,949,584 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,497,333. The company has a market capitalization of $7.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 0.80. SM Energy has a 12-month low of $17.45 and a 12-month high of $41.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $36.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.58.

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The energy company reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. SM Energy had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 18.20%. The firm’s revenue was up 167.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that SM Energy will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at SM Energy

In other SM Energy news, Director Ashwin Venkatraman sold 3,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.28, for a total value of $139,722.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,525 shares in the company, valued at $479,457. The trade was a 22.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP James Barker Lebeck sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.02, for a total value of $647,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $544,379.10. The trade was a 54.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SM Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in SM Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $1,025,229,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in SM Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $378,288,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in SM Energy by 79.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,995,353 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $311,678,000 after acquiring an additional 4,426,751 shares during the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. bought a new stake in SM Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $199,602,000. Finally, Webs Creek Capital Management LP bought a new stake in SM Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $53,257,807. Institutional investors own 94.56% of the company’s stock.

SM Energy Company Profile

SM Energy Company is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its activities include acquiring prospective acreage, drilling and completing wells, and managing producing properties in U.S. onshore oil and gas basins.

The company’s operations are primarily concentrated in Texas, including the Midland Basin in West Texas and the Eagle Ford shale region in South Texas. SM Energy focuses on development of unconventional resources and uses horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies to produce hydrocarbons from shale and other tight-rock formations.

Founded in 1908 as St.